


Only a Crazy Little Thing I Read

by Icka M Chif (mischif)



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Peter Pan Fusion, Angst, Blanket Permission, Body Horror, Character Death, Fairies, Fairy Tale Elements, Fluffy Ending, Gen, Hearts, Immortality, Jackrabbit Week, Mild Gore, Soooo much stabbing, Stabbing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-07
Updated: 2015-04-09
Packaged: 2018-03-21 19:26:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3703015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mischif/pseuds/Icka%20M%20Chif
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"But... Dat is Peter Pan!" North motioned incredulously towards the boy flying over head. "He saves children, takes dem back to Neverland!"</p><p>"And how do you know that?" Jack asked, voice slightly distracted as he kept himself and his staff between the girl he was guarding and the boy who would never grow up. "Same way you knew I was Naughty before you met me?"</p><p>North's sabres appeared in his hands. "Vhat you need me to do?"</p><p> </p><p>  <i>Posting for <a href="http://jackrabbitweek.tumblr.com/post/114168540698/greetings-all-have-spoken-to-the-mods-at">Jackrabbit Week</a> Prompts of 'Healing' and 'Hurting'. </i></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. How could something so fair, Be so cruel

* * *

_“The boys on the island vary, of course, in numbers, according as they get killed and so on; and when they seem to be growing up, which is against the rules, **Peter thins them out** “_

Beginning of Chapter 5, ['Peter Pan and Wendy', by J.M. Barrie](http://www.gutenberg.org/files/26654/26654-h/26654-h.htm)  


* * *

The sound of North’s voice through a portal behind him nearly made Jack fall over in relief that his gamble had paid off. Guardian or not, this was the first time he’d asked for help, and was relieved to see that his summons had been answered. 

Theoretically, he could call upon any of the other Guardians for help at any time. But he’d visited Tooth often enough to know what happened when she was interrupted, Sandy was impossible to find, and he couldn’t call upon Bunny... because of reasons. 

And North wasn’t supposed to know that Jack had acquired one of his Snowglobes. He’d only grabbed one in case of emergencies, and if this wasn’t one, he didn’t know what was. 

“Jack!” North’s voice boomed as Jack circled around Pippa, keeping himself between Peter and the girl. Pippa kept her head up towards the sky, clutching her school backpack to her chest. 

At least she was dressed in winter clothes this time around, instead of in her pyjamas. 

True to form, Peter took advantage of North’s arrival to attack, and Jack growled as Peter attempted to shove his damn dagger in Jack’s chest again with a fiendish cackle. He got his staff up in between them in time, using it to fling Peter off. 

“Little help?” He shouted as Peter launched himself up into the air with a crow, the pink fairy he was with giving a sneering laugh. 

"But... Dat is Peter Pan!" North motioned incredulously towards the boy flying over head. "He saves children, takes dem back to Neverland!"

"And how do you know that?" Jack asked, voice slightly distracted as he kept himself and his staff between the girl he was guarding and the boy who would never grow up. "Same way you knew I was Naughty before you met me?"

North's sabres appeared in his hands. "Vhat you need me to do?" He growled, voice low and dangerous.

He felt a little bad for rubbing his past with the Guardians in North’s face, but right now he didn’t have time for lengthy discussions. “We need to get Pippa out of here, he’s trying to take her to Neverland as the next Wendy.” 

“I don’t wanna go.” Pippa whimpered, her voice wavering. She wasn’t crying, but there were definitely tears in her voice. “I don’t wanna be a Mother.” 

“Then you vill not.” North swore, marching resolutely towards him, blades gleaming. 

There was something immensely reassuring about having a great mountain of a man at his back, prepared to slice anyone in half. Jack grinned, feeling optimistic about his chances against Peter Pan for the first time in a long time. 

And he didn’t even have to freeze an entire continent or two this time. 

Peter attacked North, hitting his sabres with a metallic clang. “Nice coat.” Peter said conversationally, before attempting to gouge North’s eyes out. North snarled, his sword seeming to flicker before Peter was back up in the air. 

“He’ll stab you in the back if he gets the chance.” Jack warned, dodging Peter’s current fairy. He saw Pippa move out of the corner of his eye, swinging her school backpack, and the pink fairy let out a yelp as it was struck. He chuckled darkly to himself as the fairy didn’t come back for another, most likely stuck in the snow. 

“Noted.” North rumbled, sounding distinctly annoyed now. 

“I just want to play.” Peter said, a petulant note to his voice as he twisted around to make a grab for Pippa, who squeaked and pressed against Jack. A large shadow out of the corner of his eye made Jack spin and nearly clock North in the head with his staff. 

“Is alright.” North said soothingly, one of his swords disappearing as he put a hand on Pippa’s shoulder. “We go to Pole, _da_?” 

“Yeah.” Jack watched Peter circling around them. “Get Pippa through, I’ll keep him from following.”

“But you _are_ following us?” North pulled out a globe and shook it. It wasn’t quite so much a verification as it was a polite demand. It made Jack grin, he’d heard similar tones of voice from parents to kids before, but it was the first time it’d ever been directed at him. 

“As soon as you’re clear.” Jack promised, leaping up and swinging his staff, a wave of snow momentarily obscuring Peter, and most importantly, blocking Peter’s vision. He could hear the whoosh of the portal opening below him and bared his teeth in a feral grin at Peter. 

He wasn’t alone anymore. He had friends now, ones that not even Peter flipping Pan could take away. 

Peter laughed, bright and cheerful, as he wiped the snow out his eyes. “Playing dirty?” He asked, his voice changing from playful to challenging. 

Crap. Jack jerked backwards, avoiding a swing of Peter’s dagger, then twisted to kick the immortal boy. Peter retreated for a second to avoid, then lunged to the side, aiming for the glowing portal below. 

Jack lashed out with his crook, catching Peter with the hooked end and flinging him into the sky as hard as he could. 

Not hard enough as Peter laughed, practically skidding across the air, before launching himself back down towards Jack. Jack glared, bracing himself for Peter’s attack, when he realised that he wasn’t the target that Peter was swiftly aiming for. 

Peter was going for the portal below. 

Stupid, stupid, stupid. “Wind!” He shouted, getting pushed into Peter, the two of them falling into a mid-air tangle of angry flailing limbs. 

“I don’t like you anymore. You stole Wendy from me.” Peter petulantly informed him, burying his dagger into Jack’s chest and twisting. Jack screamed as the iron blade cut into him. “And you don’t play fair.” 

That was a load of horse dung, coming from Peter. “Neither do you.” Jack snarled back, shoving his knee into Peter’s gut as hard as he could. Peter let out a muffled gasp, giving Jack enough time to get his staff between them, and flinging Peter away again, this time into some pine trees. 

“Wind!” He called again, falling in the direction of the portal before Peter could get to it. The wind howled around the clearing, throwing snow in every direction, before tossing Jack into the portal. 

The bright light and strange condensed feeling of going through a portal had never felt so good before. 

The portal tossed him into the Globe Room of North’s Workshop, Jack landing on the ground in an awkward motion that pushed the dagger in deeper. Jack winced, then relaxed as the portal closed behind him. 

“I vas starting to worry.” North rumbled, and he glanced up to find North standing there, one sword still in hand. Phil stood at North’s left shoulder, a large studded mace in one hand. 

“Yeah, well, Peter’s a bit of a persistent pain in my neck.” Jack said, using the staff to leverage himself up onto his feet, and keep both arms in front of his chest to hide the dagger. Pain in his neck, and other areas. “Thanks for the assist.”

“Bah.” North waved it off, the sabre casually disappearing. “Is good idea, you having Snowglobe on you for such things. I am only disappointed I did not think of it first. Ve vill make sure you have extra globe or two in future.”

Jack ducked his head, feeling frost cover his cheeks in a pleased blush. He didn’t think he could carry more than one Snowglobe on him at a time, but it was the thought that counted. 

“Not that ve are safe, vat is this vith Peter Pan?” North rumbled, clapping a hand on Jack’s shoulder. “I had thought him good guy.”

“Yeah, no.” Jack said, trying not to sound bitter and not sure how well he succeeded. 

“Peter Pan is a _monster_.” Pippa said, stepping out from behind Phil, her hat pulled down low over her head. “He haunts my family like a stupid curse.” 

“Your family?” North rumbled, turning towards Pippa, one hand stroking his long beard. Phil grumbled, shoving the mace into one of the barrels of weapons that littered the Workshop before wandering off. Jack took the chance to try to grab the dagger and pull it out of his chest, then hissed as the handle burned him. 

Of course Peter would have the handle wrapped in iron wire. Jackass. 

He didn’t understand how iron didn’t bother Peter at all. Jack hated iron, it had this annoying habit of weakening both the magic that kept him alive, and his ice powers. But then iron wasn’t really kind to anyone with any sort of magic, save maybe Dwarves. 

That meant he had to do it the hard way. Taking a deep breath, he focused his ice into his chest, slowly pushing the dagger out. It was a good thing he didn’t have much flesh left there, or it would have have hurt more, instead of the odd feeling of pressure. 

And he’d liked this hoodie too. It’d lasted longer than most of his other shirts. 

“Wendy Darling’s granddaughter, Margaret, was my Great-Grandmother.” Pippa said, her hands clenched into white knuckled fists gripping the hem of her shirt. “Every generation, Peter Pan comes for one of us, to be the new ‘Mother’, to go to Neverland for Spring Cleaning.”

“And dis is… bad?” North questioned, sounding kind of hopeful. 

Pippa looked up at him, her big brown eyes watery from the tears she wasn’t allowing to fall. “Aunt Moira? Mom’s sister? She never came back.” 

“Oh.” North’s eyebrows went up in surprise, then down in a dark frown. He shifted closer to Pippa, resting a hand on her head, and she leaned against him for comfort, wrapping an arm around his leg. 

“Wendy, her brothers with that crop of Lost Boys, Wendy’s daughter Jane, and Jane’s daughter Margaret all went and came back.” Jack said quietly. “Those are the only ones to ever return from Neverland.” 

“Grandma Liza saw Peter just before Easter one year.” Pippa nodded. “Then a snowstorm chased him away and Peter didn’t show up again until he took Aunt Moira. Which is when Grandma Liza moved the family to America, where she hoped we’d be safe from him.”

“And he follow you across the ocean.” North rumbled. 

Pippa nodded, wiping at an eye with the back of a her hand. “Grandma used to say that you don’t grow old in the Neverland.” She mumbled. 

North looked at Jack, clearly confused. “You do not age? Like you?” 

Jack shook his head. “You don’t live long enough.” He explained with a shrug. 

“...Vat?” North whispered, and Jack watched the realisation sink into North’s eyes, with a feeling of sadness at the loss of optimism. “Then Neverland-?”

Jack glanced over at Pippa. Pippa pressed her lips together and nodded, glancing up at North, a silent plea for Jack to explain it. Jack sighed, leaning heavily against his staff. 

“Peter’s like the bright glowy bit on one of those Deep Sea Anglerfish. He’s the shiny eye-catching lure, so you don’t see the gaping hungry maw behind him.” Jack said wearily.“Peter collects the kids, takes them to the Neverland, where they’re food for whatever the island is.” 

He still wasn’t sure what the Neverland was. If it was a pocket dimension, or an alien space ship, just that it was damn hard to escape from. Peter had a habit of lying and making stuff up when he didn’t know the answer, so they couldn’t even trust the ‘second star to the right and straight on ‘til morning’ bit. 

North glanced upwards, towards a skylight where the Moon was partially visible. “Manny… He thinks that Peter Pan is good. That he saves these Lost Boys, gives them a home.”

Jack grimaced. “Well, technically, he’s not wrong.” He admitted. The new home killed them was all. “But Manny can’t see the Neverland, can he?” 

North shook his head. “No. Otherwise he vould know dat is not safe.” And probably never would have thought Peter Pan was Guardian material if he had. 

But then Manny wasn’t always in the sky. The Man in the Moon could see a lot of things, but not everything.

Phil returned, carrying a tray of snowglobes, giving Jack a wary look as he sat them down next to Jack. Phil still wasn’t entirely convinced that Jack was ‘good’ now. Either that or it was the Yeti’s way of playing with Jack. He wasn’t entirely sure, Phil wasn’t always easy to read. 

Well, unless threatening physical violence. Kinda like Bunny that way. 

“Thanks.” Jack said, reaching to take a globe. 

“JACK!” North’s horrified bellow stopped him mid-motion. Jack glanced around for any sort of danger, before looking over at North, who had his hands covering his mouth, blue eyes going comically round in horror. 

Pippa had a similarly panicked look. 

Jack had a sudden sinking feeling. “... What?” 

“Dere is a KNIFE in your chest!” North exclaimed, before he raised his voice loud enough to echo throughout the Workshop. “PHIL! FETCH BUNNY! JACK IS INJURED!” 

Phil let out a shrill terrifying shriek and dashed, off, the sound echoing throughout the building as other yeti took up the scream and ran around in the distance. 

“I’m not!” Jack protested, wrapping an arm around his torso to shield the knife from view. He let out a weak laugh and backed away from the large Russian. “I’m perfectly fine! Really!”

This was not how he wanted the Guardians to find out about his whole… possibly not quite alive health issue thing. 

Corpses, reanimated or not, weren’t exactly known for being ‘child-friendly’. 

“I think you are attempting to making funny of situation.” North said, holding a hand up in a soothing gesture, much the same as one would use to calm down a wild creature. “Vhy don’t you sit down, ve vill take care of dis-”

“No, no! I’m good! Really!” Jack said, waving a hand back. It was more than halfway out now, just a little more and it’d fall out on its own, and he’d be all healed up, just fine. “There is no reason to call Bunny-”

He heard a noise behind him and didn’t quite suppress the flinch that went across his face. Anyone but Bunny. Please, let it be anyone but Bunny. He couldn’t _deal_ with the Avatar of Spring right now, he barely had enough energy to keep everything together right now, he wouldn’t be able to with the Guardian of Light and Hope around too. 

“What’s the hubub about?” Bunny’s voice cracked with sharp irritation and Jack grimaced. Of course.

“Bunny!” Jack plastered a broad fake grin across his face, guaranteed to send the Pooka running. “Funny story-”

“Crikey!” Bunny’s eyes went huge. “Jack! There’s a knife in your chest!” 

“Dat is vhat _**I**_ said!” North boomed, clearly displeased. 

“Oh, yeah. That.” Jack laughed, looking down at the dagger sticking out of his ribcage with an exaggerated expression, as if he was seeing it for the first time. Just a little farther, there was only so fast he could ice around the iron.… 

“But… There is a KNIFE in yer CHEST.” Bunny repeated, going up in volume.

“Yeah, I heard you already.” Jack waved it off, trying for a laugh, which came out a little flat, even to his own ears. “It’s not a big deal. You lot act like this is the first time.” 

Surprisingly, that did little to calm Bunny down. His dark eyebrows came down over his green eyes as he began to stalk towards Jack, who gulped at the serious aura that suddenly surrounded the usually bristly Guardian. 

"Back. Off." Jack growled, curling both arms over his chest, and backing away from the Pooka. A soft bootstep behind him reminded him that this put North behind him and he twisted to to keep an eye on the both of them. 

Both the older Guardians had a dangerous look in their eyes, that Jack just _knew_ spelt trouble. 

“Jack?” Pippa piped up, her voice wobbling. 

“I’m fine, Pippa.” Jack assured her, warily glancing between North and Bunny. “Take more than this to-”

He jumped backwards as North lunged for him, bouncing off a railing and shifting towards the freedom of the Globe room. A grey blur out of the corner of his his eye caught his attention and he summoned the wind to blow him to the side, narrowly avoiding Bunny’s grasping arms. 

They were double-teaming him, North aiming low, Bunny aiming high. He could handle that. He swung his staff, hooking it it on a piece of furniture and using it to swing around to try to dodge past North. 

North used his height to his advantage, letting out a merry bellow as he lunged towards Jack. Jack turned and ducked, sliding head-first on his side across the floor, figuring they’d predict he’d go high again. 

Something snagged his leg, and he glanced back to find that one of Bunny’s holes had opened up, the Pooka’s furry hands wrapped around his ankle.

“No!” Jack swung his staff, twisting around and trying to hit Bunny to get the other Guardian to release him. “Don’t **Touch** Me!” He could feel Bunny’s warmth run through him, thawing him, and he panicked, frantically flailing to try to escape, ignoring their shouts to calm down.

There was a ‘pop’ and suddenly Jack was free, throwing himself upwards, into the rafters and out of their grasp, feeling his flesh freeze back to familiar numbness. 

There was an awkward moment of silence, save for Jack’s harsh breathing as he attempted to calm down. 

“Jack?” North’s surprisingly soft voice broke the plateau. “Your leg’s come off.” 

Jack licked his bottom lip and swallowed, before glancing down. Bunny was standing below him on the floor, still holding Jack’s foot in one hand, eyes wide and round. North was staring at the foot as if fixated. Pippa was hiding behind North. 

And Phil looked about ready to faint. The Yeti never had been completely comfortable around blood. 

Shit. Shit, damn, buggering fuck. He’d been doing _so good_ at keeping them from finding out just how much of a freak he was. 

“Yeah.” Jack carefully agreed, ignoring how much his voice wobbled. “It does that.” 

“Not a clean tear.” Bunny ventured, a weirdly detached tone to his voice, staring at the jagged mess of flesh that was Jack’s lower calf. He tapped the jagged flesh with one claw. “Looks like a bear gotcha.” 

“Bear trap, actually.” Jack spun his staff and lowered it, crook side down so that it was right next to Bunny. “Can I have my foot back? _Please_?” He tried not to whine the last part. 

“Yeah.” Bunny held the foot out, then turned it upside down, attempting to hook the ankle joint on the crook. A quick pulse of ice stuck the flesh to the wood, and Bunny released the foot, allowing Jack to haul it up to the rafter. 

“Thanks.” Jack said, twisting around to sit more firmly on the rafter, setting his lower leg in his lap, and undoing the wrappings around the now partially empty pants leg. 

Useful thing, string. Not only kept his pants from flapping around in the wind, helped keep his legs on. 

“So… Ah…. Guessin’ that’s why ya don’t want me near ya.” Bunny ventured, sounding incredibly awkward as his ears rose, then drooped at a dejected angle. “Spring meltin’ Winter and all that.” 

Jack closed his eyes and nodded, fingers undoing the wrap with centuries of practise. “Yeah.” He tried not to make a big deal out of it, how he shied away from Bunny’s proximity, but he couldn’t risk it. 

His heart had only beaten once in the past century. Blizzard of ‘68, large warm hands pressing fleetingly against his chest, he'd felt like he was being reborn and dying all at the same time.

He didn't know what Bunny's touch would do to him, if the Avatar of Spring melted his ice and warmed his flesh again. If he would die a second, more permanent time with as many holes as he had in his body.

If it would matter, just to feel vibrantly alive and whole again. 

"I'm held together with ice and smiles." Jack bitterly smirked, pulling his trouser leg up over the mangled mess of his calf. "Can't have you thawing me out now." 

He picked up his mangled foot, and pressing it up against the ripped flesh, shifting it around until he felt the bone grate against bone in a familiar way. The ice in his body flowed between the break, attaching the limb once more, leaving a smooth shiny scar that reflected the dark red tissue underneath when the light caught it right.

He tugged the cloth back over the frozen flesh, hiding it from view and flexed his foot, rotating the ankle joint and wiggling his toes. 

“See? Good as new.” He said, trying for jovial as he wrapped the string back around his calves. 

“I think, I vould like explanation now.” North rumbled, his voice thoughtful as he stroked his long beard. “If you please, Jack Frost.” 

“I….” Jack closed his eyes and sighed. “Yeah.” He did kind of owe them an explanation. 

Well, it had been a nice run while it lasted, being a Guardian. Just over a year. 

“I’m staying up here though.” He added. Where they couldn’t quite reach him. Bunny probably could, if he jumped. It was probably a good thing the two flyers of the group weren’t here. 

“You’ve been to the Neverland, haven’t you?” Pippa piped up up, saving him from having to figure out where to start. 

“Yeah.” He nodded, peeking open an eye to glance below. North appeared about as stoic as he got, waiting for the story to be told before acting. Pippa looked both nervous and expectant, and Bunny… 

He didn’t look at Bunny. 

“That’s the long and the short of it, really.” He said, closing his eye again and leaning back against the vertical support. “Over a century ago, I’d heard rumours of Peter Pan, how he gathered up Lost Boys and took them a new home. I figured that I couldn’t get more lost than I was, tracked him down and flew with them to the Neverland.”

“What was supposed to be a fresh start turned into a horrific nightmare pretty quick. Kids kept dieing, and I couldn’t stop it. Then when the numbers got low, Peter’d go and get more kids. They’d die off, he’d go and get more, repeat, repeat, repeat.” 

Someone below made a growl, closer to a feral growl deep in their chest. He couldn’t tell if it was North, Bunny, or both of them. Either one wouldn’t surprise him. 

“But thanks to Peter being able to see me, the Lost Boys learned my name, and they could see me.” Which honestly made it worse, made it more personal. “One in particular, Pip, became my first real friend. We’d hide from Peter together whenever we could. I was one of Peter’s favourites, he made it a game of trying to kill me whenever he remembered that I didn’t die.”

“Remembered?” Bunny echoed. 

“It’s how Peter Pan stays innocent forever.” Pippa filled in. “He _forgets_.” She spat, as indignant as a kid can be. 

North made a low growl. “Forgets?” He didn’t sound particularly pleased with the sound of that. 

“The original agreement with Great-Grandma Wendy was that he’d come for her every spring.” Pippa whispered. “He comes once a generation, and takes whoever is about the right age, ‘cause he doesn’t remember what she looks like anymore.” 

“He doesn’t know who Hook or Tinkerbell are either.” Jack added. “He forgot them by the time he came back for Jane.” 

North muttered the name of a Russian Composer like it was a soft curse. Jack glanced down just in time to see Pippa give North a look like she wasn’t sure if it was appropriate for him to be saying that in front of her or not. 

Jack pressed his lips together to keep from giggling. It was also kind of nice having her here to verify his story, that someone else knew how bad Peter was, instead of just believing the Disney version. 

Jack didn’t age, but Peter didn’t grow up, and there was a big difference between the two. 

“So that’s what ya meant by this weren’t the first time you’ve had a knife in yer chest.” Bunny said quietly, bringing the subject back. 

“Yeah.” Jack ran a hand through his hair, bringing his gaze back up to the wood of the rafter. “I could heal afterwards, it was more an annoyance repairing my shirts afterwards than anything else. Until Peter decided to cut my heart out and replace it with Pip’s.”

He couldn’t quite catalogue the noise that the two Guardians and Phil made, sort of the rumble of a bear, crossed with the hiss of an angry rattlesnake. 

“I had to bury the first best friend I ever made, because of Peter.” Jack growled, ice crackling along his staff. He took a deep breath and let it out, calming down before he froze the inside of the Workshop. 

“I failed in escaping Neverland, until Peter brought Wendy and her brothers in.” He said, picking up the threads of narration again. “Peter single-handedly slaughtering Hook and his entire crew as the Lost Boys kept track of how many pirates he killed. Afterwards, I hitched a ride on the _Jolly Roger_ when he dropped everyone off at the Darling home, and never went back. I try to stop him whenever I can, but I’m not always successful.” 

“The Easter snowstorm that prevented Peter from taking Grandma Liza?” Pippa hesitantly asked. “That was you, wasn’t it?” 

“Snowstorm?” Bunny echoed, his voice confused, then turning fierce. “Wait. When was this?” 

“I’m not sure. Late ‘60s?” Pippa guessed and Bunny let loose a stream of incoherent sounds that probably weren’t meant to be english. Jack almost laughed, but had that hysterical feeling that if he started, he wouldn’t be stopping any time soon. 

“The Blizzard of ‘68.” North rumbled, sounding smug. “ _Da_ , ve haf heard much of Jack’s doing of dis.” 

“He…” Bunny stammered, and Jack glanced down to find Bunny turning from side to side, looking like he wanted to positively murder something. “But… And… F-“ 

“Language.” North chided, cutting him off. 

Bunny snapped his jaw shut, holding up a finger before storming over to one of the couches. He picked up a pillow and started screaming into it. Phil stepped up behind Pippa and silently put his hands over her ears. She glanced up at the Yeti, then put her hands over his, pressing them tighter to her skull as the cadence of Bunny’s swearing changed. 

“... Do we need to wash his mouth out with soap?” Jack inquired, curious. 

“Would not be first time.” North said jovially. “I vill not argue it, last time he vashed mine out.” 

More than he needed to know about those two, really it was. He had the sneaking suspicion that they were faking about being adults. 

“Do not mind Bunny. He is idiot.” North waved dismissively at Bunny, who seemed to be either winding down or gathering for another wave of swearing. “The main concern is are you alright, Jack?”

“I…” Jack swallowed, trying to get around the unexpected lump in his throat. “I…” 

“You are surprised by question.” North rumbled, blue eyes focused on Jack’s face. “You think ve turn you away after ve find out your past?”

Jack nodded. “The only thing that goes together better than cold and dark is cold and dead.” He said, his voice sounding hollow. He wasn’t… this wasn’t _normal_. He wasn’t even sure how long the magic that kept him moving would last, if he’d just suddenly fall to pieces at any second. 

All the more reason to enjoy life while he had it. 

“Bah.” North waved it off. “Sounds like something Pitch would say. And he is bigger idiot than Bunny.”

“Oi!” Bunny snapped. 

“I am not the one screaming into pillow instead of apologising.” North said loftily. “I _told_ you. Jack Frost is Guardian. I could feel it in my belly.” He patted his large belly with a satisfied air. 

“Oh, yes. The infamous belly.” Bunny drawled sarcastically as he rolled his eyes. He paused, then looked up at Jack, a contrite look on his face. “Jack…”

“Don’t.” Jack shook his head. It felt… wrong to have Bunny apologise for the Blizzard of ‘68. Yeah, Bunny hadn’t known that Jack was trying to save someone, but he still caused a big problem for the holiday. “The world would stop. Seriously.” He added with a small grin.

Bunny huffed and shook his head, crossing his arms across his chest as he glanced down, away from Jack.

“Can I uncover my ears now?” Pippa loudly asked. North startled before laughing, motioning for the Yeti to release her. Phil did so, raising his hands up into the air, prompting a giggle from the girl. Pippa smiled up at Phil, who practically glowed at the attention. “Thanks.” 

Jack laughed, the dagger falling out of his chest, and landing point first into the wood floor below. “Sorry.” He grimaced. “Be careful touching that, it’s all iron.”

Bunny made a face at the dagger, shying away. “I got it.” Pippa volunteered, pulling the scarf from around her neck and wrapping it around her hand before stepping forward. Phil made a concerned sound, as she went to pull the dagger out of the floor.

“Am more concerned dat you are alright, Jack.” North looked up at Jack, reaching a hand up. “Come down, please? So dat ve see with our own eyes dat you are okay?” 

Jack hesitated for a moment, then nodded, swinging his legs over the rafter and jumping down. He glanced warily at the others when he landed, resting his staff against his shoulder when he realised that they weren’t going to rush at him. 

North was giving him a steady look, clearly waiting, and Jack huffed, running a hand through his hair before walking over to the Guardian of Wonder. “I’m fine, really.” 

“I know, but...” North held a hand out, just hovering over Jack’s chest, where his heart should have been without touching. “You vill not hurt if I touch?”

“You haven’t before.” Jack assured him, then flinched at the soft pained sound Bunny made, like someone had just punched him in the gut. Jack felt bad, he hadn’t meant to… He _liked_ Bunny, he was fun to banter with, with his sarcasm and his temper, and Jack loved to see him lighten up and smile. 

He just couldn’t get close to Bunny was all. 

North’s hand was slightly warm as he pressed the palm against Jack’s chest, feeling the smooth icy surface under the hoodie material. “No pulse.” North mused, then gently tugged the fabric away, looking at the mass of ice that made up the left side of his chest with surprise. “Dere is no heart there.” 

“No.” Jack shook his head as North removed his hand, to stroke his beard thoughtfully. “I had to move it, Peter keeps aiming for my chest. So when my liver got ripped open shortly after coming back from Neverland, I moved Pip’s heart there, and put a chunk of my liver there, so he still hit something.”

He patted just under the ribs on his right side, where Pip’s heart lay. “Peter’s since gone through the remains of the liver in my chest, so it’s just iceshhhh….” 

A sharp pain cut him off, stealing the thoughts from his brain. He faltered, trying to speak around the pain. Feeling the world wobble around him like he was suddenly shoved underwater again, he looked down to find Pippa staring up at him with solemn brown eyes. 

Pippa, who had both hands wrapped around the dagger that was in his stomach. Pippa pushed it sideways, slicing his abdomen open. If it wasn’t for his grip on his staff, he would have fallen over.

“I’m so sorry, Jack.” Pippa said, rubbing the back of one hand across her head and knocking the ever present hat away. 

Jack’s eyes went round as he recognised that face. It had been over a hundred years, but he still knew that face. “Pip-?” 

His vision blurred and for a moment he wondered if maybe he had dreamt it, that Pip wasn’t dead. He shook his head, forcing himself to focus once more. 

Pip sniffed, then nodded. “Sorry.” Pip said, reaching into Jack’s belly and pulling out a dark red lump. “But I need my heart back.” 

“Oh.” Jack was barely able to get the word out as the world tilted sideways. The last thing he saw was Pip’s serious eyes before darkness swallowed him whole. 

He didn’t feel it when he hit the ground.

* * *

A rhythmic pounding in his ears woke him up. 

It was subtle, and faint, but kind of reassuring. It felt familiar. He drifted for a while, just listening to it.  
Other things crept into his awareness. He was comfortable, laying on something soft. And he was warm. Not uncomfortably so, which was kind of strange. It didn’t feel like he was melting, so he didn’t panic over it. 

A pressure against his hand shifted, a sharp edge that did not cut mixed with the feeling of something soft, then a new noise entered his consciousness. It took a moment to place it as someone snoring like a buzz saw. 

Someone else was there, with him. As he slept. It had been so long he couldn’t remember when someone had last slept beside him. Just that it had been a while. 

That was odder than sleeping in something soft. 

His body didn’t want to move, it felt heavy, lethargic. It took some effort, but he turned his head in the direction of the noise, struggling to get his eyes open. 

At first, all he could register was a grey blur. It wasn’t a solid grey, but all mixed up, dark grey and light grey and medium grey and white. 

He blinked, each motion seeming to take ages to complete, and slowly, the image came into focus. 

Bunny. He’d know those ears anywhere. 

That meant wherever he was was probably safe. 

More time passed and he realised that Bunny was asleep, head resting on his arms, one which was folded on the bed Jack was laying on. The other was the pressure on Jack’s hand, Bunny holding on to it. 

Jack swallowed, a flicker of alarm passing through him, giving him enough of a burst of energy to start pulling his hand away.

“Easy, Jack.” North’s voice rumbled from his other side, and he paused, realising he was somewhere in the Workshop. 

Workshop. 

Pip.

Heart. 

He turned to face North, who was sitting in a solid looking wood chair, a book in one hand, a pair of half-moon reading glasses perched on the end of his nose, Jack’s staff resting next to him, within arm’s reach. Jack swallowed, his throat feeling rough as he tried to speak, making a soft squeaking sound instead.

“Hold on.” North rumbled, reaching next to him where a bucket of ice chips sat. He picked up a spoon and scooped up a couple of chips, carefully depositing a few on Jack’s lips. “Do not chew. Let it melt.” 

Melt? Ice did not _melt_ around Jack Frost, he _made_ ice-

His thought was sidetracked by the odd feeling of water trickling across his tongue, the ice chips thawing on his lips. He opened his mouth, licking the ice and marvelling in the novelty if it melting. 

North fed him a few more chips of ice and Jack gained a little bit more awareness. The odd thudding sound in his ears was a heartbeat. His heartbeat, if he believed the funny feeling in his chest. He could easily feel and twitch all his fingers and toes, most of the usual numbness in his body was gone. 

He felt… alive. Exhausted, but alive in a way he could barely remember anymore. 

Pretty remarkable for his last memory being a knife in the gut. 

He swallowed the water in his mouth and spoke before North could give him more. “Pip?”

“Gone.” North rumbled, giving Jack more ice chips before he could ask for more information. Jack gave him an annoyed glared, but sucked on the chips anyway. “She use Snowglobe hidden in backpack to open portal to Neverland. Took heart, fairy dat came vith Peter Pan, dagger, and veapon dat had been confiscated from elves dat vas accidentally left in barrel.”

Jack thought about it. “What weapon?” 

North grimaced, making a sour face. “Flame Thrower.” He grudgingly admitted. 

Jack stared at North for a moment, before snorting in amusement. He would have laughed harder if he’d had the energy, and made a note to get more details from North about that later. 

“Is tiny one.” North sulked, which did nothing to mute Jack’s delight. “But creates large flame. Said she vas going to burn down Neverland with it. Very adamant about killing Peter Pan as well.”

Jack grinned. He wasn’t sure how much damage an elf-size flamethrower would do on the Neverland, but he wished her all the luck with it. If there was any place he ever wanted to see burn, it was the Neverland. 

“Ve have not seen her since.” North added, with a heavy sigh. “I stop by Burgess to talk to the kids, to find them talking to her caretaker, Olivia.” 

“Not her Mom?” Jack croaked. North fed him more ice chips, which did feel good, but he kind of got the impression North was giving them to Jack more to keep him quiet. 

“No.” North rumbled. “No, she is not. Pippa is Darling Family secret, the Lost Boy dat does not age. She arrive on pirate ship with others, covered in dirt, and would not say how she got there. They did not find out for many, many years dat Pip does not age, or dat Pip is not boy.” 

Jack held up a hand, or tried to, it kind of flumping against the bed. Still, North waited for him to swallow and speak. “No girls in Lost Boys.” He got out. “Peter said girls are too clever, to get lost.”

It kind of made sense now, how private Pip had been. It certainly explained why Pip never joined them in stripping down to go swimming. 

“Ah.” North nodded, looking unsurprised by the information. “The family keeps her hidden, few years here, few years there. Sometimes as boy, sometimes as girl. She is one who spread story about Jack Frost nipping at nose. Get name out there, in hopes people believe in you.”

Jack frowned. He didn’t think he’d ever did that to Pip. But over a hundred years ago was a long time to remember, even for a spirit. 

“She also the reason why daughters after Margaret did not want to go.” North added, stroking his beard. “She tell them truth of what happens there. Pippa volunteered to go back once Olivia’s daughters got old enough for Peter to return.”

“She planned-” Jack squeaked, then licked his lips. North gave him more ice and Jack was momentarily distracted by the feeling of the ice melting.

“To try to kill Peter from the beginning, yes.” North nodded. “I suspect dat your interference was not planned for, but welcomed.” 

Jack made a thoughtful noise, sucking on the ice. 

“Although, I do vorry.” North added quietly. “With her heart in you, Manny’s magic that changed you to Jack Frost is most likely vas vhat kept her immortal as well. Vith her heart back…” He trailed off with a weary wave of his hands.

Jack nodded, understanding what North was saying. Without him carrying her heart, she would probably lose the immortality she’d gained, and die again. This time, by her own choice. And hopefully taking down Peter Pan and the Neverland at the same time.

Over a hundred years was a long time to be eight years old. Maybe she’d age this time. Not ageing could be a huge pain in the butt. 

He wished he had found Pip earlier. They could have helped each other out, kept each other company. It stung, the fact that Pip hadn’t contacted him sooner, that she’d hidden away. 

Jack kind of doubted she had a plan on getting back from the Neverland, which may have been why.

He drifted for a minute, listening to the pulse in his ears, and nearly fell asleep again, He woke up with a small jerk, glancing around. “Speakin’ of hearts…” He croaked. North put another couple ice chips on his lips for him to suck on.

“Ah, yes. You gave us quite the scare, Jack Frost. Ve thought you corpse-dead. Ve had no idea when you said you were held together by ice and smiles you meant that truly. So much of your body, Fttt!” He made an explosion gesture with his hands. “-Gone!”

Jack winced. Yeah. He tried not to think about how much of his body was just ice. 

100 years of battles left their mark in some really gory ways.

“And then Bunny started shouting. Orders for extra hands, that someone contact Cupid for a heart-”

Jack raised an eyebrow. Cupid?

“Vho else have lost or stolen hearts?!” North waved a hand, face crinkling in a smile. “Sandy pick good one for you. Very sturdy, lots of love. Cupid say they lost their heart to the world.”

He blinked. He’d thought that was a metaphor. 

“Oh! Vhat happen to your heart after Peter take it?” North asked, leaning forward. “Ve vere curious, vould help you heal faster.”

Jack made a face. “Mermaids.” 

“Mermaids?” North echoed, surprised. 

Jack nodded. “Mermaids.” Frikkin’ mermaids. No one ever mentioned the part about them eating human flesh.

North shook his head, waving it off. “Anyway. Bunny work on you for over week now. He sew vhat he could together, then get heart in you, get it moving, heart pumping. Only then could he vork his magic, to get body healing properly, regrow vhat was lost.”

Made of solid flesh again, instead of patchwork with large pieces of ice. To be whole, and properly alive again. He closed his eyes, fighting the urge to cry. He’d never even thought it was possible to be anything but cold and numb anymore.

North’s large hand patted him on the shoulder, and he looked up to see North smiling fondly at him. “You vill be very tired, very weak for long while. Ve vill help and, you vill be better. Nothing wrong with be made of scars and smiles, _da_?” 

Jack smiled and nodded back. He could handle that. North looked pleased, settling back in the chair with a satisfied air. He clearly wasn’t going anywhere for a while. 

Jack looked over at his other side, Bunny sleeping in a crouched position. He’d probably spent a lot of energy healing Jack, and that didn’t terribly comfortable. “North?” Jack whispered, getting the other Guardian’s attention. 

“ _Da?_ ” 

“Bunny.” He made a vague gesture with his free hand, finding it difficult to string the words together properly. “Bed?” 

“He vill not go to rest in in proper bed.” North sounding annoyed. “Convinced ve vill not watch over you correctly.” 

Jack shook his head, gesturing to the bed he was in. It wasn’t huge, but there was enough room for Bunny to stretch out on it too. “Here.” He finally got out, distracted by a yawn. 

North’s expression lit up. “Oh!” He practically bounced out of the chair, marching over to the other side and giving Bunny a nudge. Bunny startled, sitting up and looking around in alarm. 

“Do not panic.” North rumbled, giving Bunny another shove, trying to push him up onto the bed. “Get on bed.”

“But…” Bunny yawned, and Jack could see all the way back to the dangly bit at the back of his mouth. 

“Jack does not mind and you vill be more comfortable.” North rumbled, still attempting to physically move Bunny onto the bed. Bunny let out an annoyed growl as his hand was dislodged from Jack’s, and he could feel his natural chill taking over again, his pulse slowing to a sluggish crawl.

Then Bunny was on the bed, one arm thrown around Jack’s waist, shifting until his head was resting on top of Jack’s, making a soft whistling sound as he dropped off to sleep again. Jack sighed and nestled closer, digging his fingers into the long soft fur of Bunny’s ruff, his heartbeat resuming its previous pace. 

Bunny was so _warm_. Jack closed his eyes and basked in the heat Bunny radiated, even through the blankets. He’d always thought that the giant Pooka looked like he’d be great to cuddle with, and he was gleeful to have the chance to discover he was right. 

“Careful, Bunny is known to hump in his sleep.” North said jovially, walking back to his chair. Jack made an annoyed sound and decided he wasn’t going to think about how North may have acquired that knowledge. It was probably North’s way of teasing him anyway. 

North chuckled as he resumed his seat, sounding pleased with himself. Jack cracked open an eye to peer at him, finding North picking up the book he’d been holding and resuming reading. “Whatcha readin’?” Jack slurred, voice trailing off into another yawn. 

“‘Peter Pan and Wendy’ by J.M. Barrie.” North rumbled, sounding annoyed with himself. “I never read original story before.”

Jack made an inquiring noise, nestling closer to Bunny, so he could listen to Bunny’s heart beat too, feel the soft fur on his face. It was nice. He took a deep breath, drifting off to sleep. 

The last thing he was aware of was North grumbling as he turned a page in the book. 

“Dis is very messed up story.” 

-fin-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story title is from the song [I'm only Joking](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VICVEz4p-N8) by the Kongos, and the chapter titles are from [Black Sun](http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2fs75k) by Death Cab for Cutie. 
> 
> With the exception of his dagger being iron, everything about Peter Pan and the Neverland is taken straight from the books. [This tumblr post](http://aluxra.tumblr.com/post/115290759452/peter-pan-is-one-of-the-most-sinister-characters) gives a good overview of why Peter's one of the most sinister characters ever. [This tumblr post](http://dick-in-a-fox.tumblr.com/post/115747403231/government-secret-190) has been my feeling about Hook for years.
> 
> Wendy’s daughter Jane and her granddaughter Margaret are from the book, Peter Pan and Wendy.  
> Liza is the name of Wendy’s housemaid in ‘Hook’.  
> Moira is named after Peter’s wife in ‘Hook’. ‘Moira’ means _"destiny, share, fate"_ , which is why she’s the one that never leaves the Neverland.  
> Olivia Mattingly is the name of Pippa’s voice actress.


	2. And there is Hope within Despair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Backstory, Jack Frost in the Neverland.

* * *

Jack had heard of Peter Pan, of course. Everyone had, the Boy Who Never Grew Up, who gathered up cast away children and took them a new home, to the Never Neverland. 

If it was one thing Jack wanted more than to be seen, it was a home. Someplace where people could see him, welcome him, where he belonged. 

This world didn’t seem to have any use for him, but maybe the Neverland, with its leader who also didn’t age, could be be it. 

With that thought in mind, he tracked down and eventually found Peter Pan in London, gathering up a half dozen waifs and strays that were huddling for warmth in the bushes of Kensington Gardens long after the park had closed. The children chattered happily as Peter sprinkled them with pixie dust from the glowing blue fairy that followed him around. 

Jack didn’t know who to admire more, Peter dressed in his bright woodland colours, or Rose Petal, the fairy. He didn’t need any of her dust to fly, but he liked the tingling feeling it gave. He and several of the kids immediately started to float, the others attempted to follow, jumping into the air and looking frustrated when they came back down to earth. 

Excited, Jack hit them with some of his special snowflakes, the stragglers laughing and started to float as well, following Peter as he led them into the sky, toward the stars and the bright lure of a better life in Never Neverland. 

He was an idiot. 

The Neverland welcomed them, the sky warping around them and making the stars blur into streaks before solidifying again, revealing an ocean with a fantastical island waiting for them. They land and Peter fitted them to the trees so they could get in and out of their hideout, Jack too. 

It was the first time someone touched him, even if it was to roughly stretch him out to fit into the tree. 

The Lost Boys were confused at this, both the new ones and the ones that already lived there, until Jack gave Peter his name, and Peter haughtily introduced Jack Frost to the rest of them.  
And then there were almost two dozen kids who knew his name, who could see him, talk to him, touch him, play with him. Who welcomed him into their circle, even though his stick was a little odd. 

Jack thought he’d found home. True, the Wind couldn’t reach him, and he couldn’t fly here, but he had friends, and that counted for a lot. 

Until he tripped over the body of one of the older Lost Boys. The body had been ravaged by the Beasts that lived in the Never Neverland, but the face was still mostly there, wide-eyed and disbelieving. 

Beasts, Peter dismissed it when Jack informed him. Peter was the undisputed ruler, the only one allowed to fly. All the children knew it, and nodded wisely at the explanation, accepting Peter’s word as law. 

There was a pattern to the Neverland. The Lost Boys hunted the Beasts for food and clothing, since they were all prohibited from dressing like Peter. The Pirates hunted the Lost Boys, the Indians hunted the Pirates, and the Beasts hunted the Indians. They all chased each other around the island and rarely caught each other because they were all moving at the same speed. 

So it sort of made sense, except that Beasts didn’t carry knives. Such as the obvious mark in the boy’s chest. 

More kids died. Sometimes it was the Pirates. Sometimes it was the Indians. Sometimes it was actually the Beasts. 

More often than not though, it was ‘accidents’. It seemed like everything on the island was trying to kill them. A rough battle that left a dead kid. Someone who snuck out of their underground home at night. A boy who got tangled in vines and died of a snapped neck. 

The Mermaids caught Jack by himself once and tried to drown him so they could eat him. They didn’t like the ice that he created to protect himself and escape, sulking whenever they saw him after that. 

Even the fairies, who were supposed to be the kid’s guides and allies, tried to kill them. Fairies were too small to hold more than one emotion at a time, and a lot of the time it was petty jealousy, which resulted in their guides looking the wrong way at the wrong time.

The number of Lost Boys trickled down to a small handful. And then Peter disappeared. The kids lost their usual rambunctious ways, settling down into near lethargy. 

Pip, the Lost Boy who had survived the longest thus far, explained that this happened frequently. The whole island would fall into a state of inactivity until Peter returned from London, with new Lost Boys in tow. It’d be all fun and games for a while. 

And then the numbers would start to dwindle again. 

Pip had survived this pattern many times in the past, over two handfuls worth. The trick, Pip reasoned, after making sure that Peter was well and truly gone and that they weren’t likely to be overheard, was to not be visible. Make sure that no one saw or heard you. 

Pip was good at being overlooked. That’s how Pip had ended up in the Neverland, because the other choice was starving among their many siblings. 

Jack laughed, he’d had almost two centuries of being ignored, and didn’t care much for it at all. 

He explored the Neverland with impunity, his mood spoiling when he discovered what Pip said was true. The Pirates and Lost Boys only waved crude hand gestures at each other but otherwise left each other in peace, the Indians feasted, the fairies slept longer, and the Beasts tended their children. 

It was as if all the excitement and blood-lust that normally filled the air was suddenly missing without Peter there to stir it up. 

Then Peter returned, bringing more kids with him. Kids who stared at the Neverland with wonder and hope on their hungry faces, that this might be home. Peter fit them for trees too, and the kids made themselves at home. 

The pattern resumed. The Lost Boys chased the Beasts, who chased the Indians, who chased the Pirates, who chased the Lost Boys.

And the Lost Boys slowly began to die. 

Jack tried to help where he could, advice and assistance when they would take it. There was a small old lady with a hooked nose who would let them hide with her occasionally if they were polite. 

Still, the numbers dwindled. 

And then Jack ended up with a knife in the chest. 

It’d been a good blow while they’d been playing war games, quick and easy from under the ribcage, tearing through his lungs and hitting his heart. He’d stared up at the face of his attacker, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

Peter smirked back at him, his feral eyes strangely pleased as he pulled the dagger out of Jack’s chest, taking a moment to wipe a smear of blood off on Jack’s shirt before releasing Jack to let him fall. 

Which Jack had, laying there as the mock battle slowly disintegrated, the children leaving for their hidey hole. He half expected to die, for blackness to overcome his vision, or one of the cliches that people always talked about with death. 

Except it didn’t. The hole in his chest slowly closed up, and eventually he picked himself up off the ground and dusted himself off, giving Pip quite the scare. He’d been so distracted he hadn’t realised that Pip had been sitting next to him the whole time, attempting to sniff back the tears running down his long face. 

Once Pip calmed down, Jack explained what he could. About waking up in the middle of lake, with the moon above him. That no one had been able to see him until Peter and the Neverland, that he didn’t think he was even technically alive anymore.

And to his surprise, Pip didn’t run screaming. Instead, he’d helped Jack up and they made their way to the gnomes who are mostly tailors to repair his shirt. 

The next time Jack saw Peter, Peter didn’t seem surprised to see him. Peter had a selective memory at the best of times, and appeared to have forgotten that he’d tried to kill Jack. Much less remember who Jack was, inviting Jack to join in their games and fun. 

The eternal boy, who would never grow up, because lessons were never remembered long enough to stick. 

Jack and Pip stuck close together after that. Pip was getting older, and it was the older ones who tended to die. No one was allowed to be older than Peter, and Jack very nearly was. 

He got stabbed in the chest a few more times, ducking in between Peter and Lost Boys during battles. The problem was that Peter was hard to predict, he’d be fine one minute, then completely feral the next. Sometimes Jack could distract Peter, and he’d forget what he had been doing, but not often. 

Each time, Peter didn’t seem to realise that he’d done it before. 

Until he did. 

They were by the Mermaids, Pip hovering nearby as Jack waited to heal, as he always did, when suddenly Peter got a strange look on his face, one that Jack had never seen before. 

He’d remembered killing Jack. Several times. 

Peter stabbed his knife in Jack’s chest, in between the bones of his ribcage, piercing Jack’s heart. 

He wanted to know why Jack wouldn’t _die_.

Jack fought back, trying to get away. Peter stole his staff, shoving him down as the Mermaids flopped out of the water, slithering over to grab Jack’s arms, shoulders and face, pinning him down as Peter played around with cutting his chest wide open. 

It _hurt_ , having his flesh sliced with the iron blade, skin peeled back, ribcage cracked and broken, ribs pulled away and tossed to the Mermaids to gleefully chew on. 

And then Peter got to his heart, which was still pumping, despite the large knife wounds in it. Jack stared in horror as Peter slowed down, taking his time to carefully separate it from the rest of his body. Jack was paralysed as Peter pulled his still beating heart in his blood smeared hands. 

Then Peter threw his heart to the Mermaids. Jack could hear their screams as they fought over it, the ripping tearing sounds as they devoured it. He could feel his heart’s destruction, the overwhelming pain fading away to icy numbness. 

Peter stared at Jack, who was barely breathing, the world fading around him, and decided he wasn’t done. If Jack was immortal, like Peter, he could play with Jack later. 

But for that, Jack would need a new heart. 

The last thing he heard was Pip scream. Pip, who had been hiding nearby, having fled when Peter showed up, but staying close in case Jack needed help afterwards. Pip, his friend, his first real friend, who saw him and didn’t think he was weird. 

Pip, whose scream abruptly cut off with a sick wet sounding gurgle as the world went black. 

He woke up again just before the sun rose, the darkest and coldest part of the night. The night air felt too still, eerily quiet. It was a struggle to move, his body slow and sluggish. His body felt strange, disconnected. 

It wasn’t until the sun finally rose that he was finally able to sit up and look around. 

To find Pip’s body laying next to him, unseeing brown eyes fixed on Jack’s face, his friend’s chest ripped open, heart missing. 

Peter had given him Pip’s heart. 

It took Jack two days to stop crying, and be able to move enough to dig a hole to bury his friend. He had nothing to wrap Pip’s body in, nothing except for the leaves and flowers he picked, crossing Pip’s arms over his chest, and using mismatched coins he’d stolen from the pirates to keep his eyes closed before covering back up with earth. 

And then he tried to find a way out of the Neverland. 

The Wind wouldn’t respond to him, something that he hadn’t minded before, but now hindered his attempts. He could still leap farther and faster than anyone on the Neverland, save possibly Peter. 

He climbed as high as he could go, explored tunnels as deep as he could. He talked to everyone who was willing to talk to him, and some that weren’t. Captain Hook, the nasty man that he was, became a sort of ally. As long as Jack was polite and used his manners, Hook didn’t try to kill him. Much. Well, as long as Jack kept on his toes and dodged appropriately. 

But both of them had the same goal: To get out of the Neverland. Many times Hook turned his cannibalised ship, the _Jolly Roger_ , towards the horizon with the intent of returning to the Seven Seas. Only to find themselves sailing straight back towards the island, with no other lands in sight. 

Jack convinced Hook to allow him to borrow a small rowboat to try it on his own one time. He would have tried to swim it, but it was the same as Hook and the Crocodile that haunted the Pirate’s steps; the Mermaids had a taste of his flesh and liked it. There were other things in the water as well, Jack would rather not see if he could survive being eaten. 

As a result, he spent a day and a night on the water, and ended back up at the island again. 

The Lost Boys’ numbers rose and fell, the kids eventually forgetting his name as the ones who knew it died and didn’t pass it on. Rose Petal died, and a new fairy took their place, a tiny jealous one with a white glow named Tinkerbell, who didn’t like anyone getting too close to Peter. 

And then Peter returned back from London with a girl. Wendy, her name was. Wendy Darling. And her brothers, John and Michael. 

There had never been a Lost Girl before, because according to Peter, girls were too clever to do stuff like get lost in the gardens. All the Lost Boys loved her and called her ‘Mother’, tending to her as dutiful sons. 

Peter himself was fascinated by Wendy. 

Under Peter’s instruction, they built a house above ground for Wendy, and went on several adventures. They saved the Indian Chief’s daughter Tiger Lily, and fought Hook several times before finally killing the old Captain and all the Pirates on board before taking over the _Jolly Roger_.

And then Peter agreed to take not only Wendy, but all the Lost Boys _back_ to London. 

Jack hooked his staff in a gun port, clinging to the side of the ship, and trying not to touch the iron cannon that stuck out. Fortunately the cannon, which made his skin blister if he touched it for too long, hid him out of Peter’s sight. The rest of the children couldn’t see him, which was the first time he’d ever been grateful for his being invisible to everyone around. 

The Wind greeted him as soon as the clouds opened up with the glow of the London skyline below them. It tugged him away, high up in the sky, tossing him around with joyous abandon. 

It felt so good to be in the air again. 

He kept an eye on the _Jolly Roger_ , just close enough that he could watch as Peter flew on ahead, and then came back. He watched as Wendy and _all_ the Lost Boys climbed through the open window to their bedroom, their Father laid obliviously in the dog kennel below them. 

And then most surprisingly, after making a promise to come back for Wendy, he watched Peter and his fairy sail away on the _Jolly Roger_ , back to the Never Neverland. Without the Lost Boys, who were loudly adopted by the Darling family. 

Jack celebrated, doing loops around London, then the British Isles, then flying as far as he could, celebrating the fact that he was free of the bloodsoaked Neverland, and that he could fly again. 

And then Peter came back. 

Peter always came back, he eventually learned. To collect more Lost Boys to feed to his monstrous Neverland. Sometimes Jack could stop him, often he couldn't, watching Peter flying away with a string of what Jack knew would soon be dead Lost Boys. 

Sometimes Peter remembered Jack, and wanted to play harmless games. Sometimes Peter remembered Jack, and wanted to know why he didn’t die. 

And every couple of decades Peter came back for the Darling girls, whenever he remembered Wendy’s promise to spend a week every year in the Neverland for Spring Cleaning. The first time that happened, Wendy had already grown up, and her daughter Jane went gleefully in her Mother’s place, having been raised on fantastical stories of Peter’s adventures, and eager to be his Mother for a little while. 

Then Jane’s daughter Margaret followed. Although she went with a little more caution in her steps. 

Margaret’s daughter Liza didn’t want to go. Jack saw Peter coming to London from a distance and did the only thing he could think of to keep Peter away from the latest Darling, causing a blizzard to hide the house. 

He over did it just a bit in his anger and frustration. His blizzard kept not only Peter Pan away, but covered a fair bit of Europe, keeping a certain large irate rabbit from delivering eggs for his holiday. 

But it worked, Peter forgot about spring cleaning with all the snow. 

Jack wasn’t quite quick enough to keep Liza’s daughter Moira from going with Peter to the Neverland. 

Moira didn’t come back. Liza fled England with her husband and young daughter Olivia, leaving the family house at No 31 Kensington Park Gardens in the hands of the Lost Boy’s grand-children in the hopes of hiding from Peter. 

To Jack’s delight, they moved to the American Northeast, near his stomping grounds. 

Peter didn’t find Olivia, and she grew old enough to have children of her own. 

And then Peter found Pippa. 

-fin-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to [CleverCorgi](http://archiveofourown.org/users/CleverCorgi/pseuds/CleverCorgi) for the beta and grammar check (even if I ignore your comma corrections) and to [Aluxra](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Aluxra/pseuds/Aluxra) for the read through. Aluxra asked about how Pip got to London, and since the story is from Jack's POV, he doesn't know, so we don't find out in the story. 
> 
> So for the curious, even with a a boost from the Neverland's inherent energy, it took a long while for the connection between Pip's heart and Jack to work, so Pip didn't wake up until about the time Wendy arrived. Pip was not happy with Jack, to find herself buried underground and having to dig herself out. 
> 
> Pip went to track down Jack, and saw him boarding the flying Jolly Roger, grabbed a rope and climbed up, hiding on the the back of the ship, then disembarked with the rest of the Lost Boys, getting lost in the confusion when they were adopted by the Darlings. It didn't become obvious that Pip wasn't ageing for several years, which the family took as leftover Neverland magic.
> 
> Pip never told them otherwise. 
> 
> Pip kind of hates Jack, not realising that Jack can't heal without his heart, (or realising that Jack treasures Pip's) and thinking that the not aging is some sort of cruel immortal game between Jack and Peter, with Pip stuck in the middle. Which is why Pip never let Jack know that Pip can see him. Pip still remembers Jack fondly though, and he's helped save Pip's family, hence the spreading of 'Jack Frost nipping at your nose'. 
> 
> Sometimes Pip is male, sometime Pip is female, depending on what Pip feels comfortable with at the time. The family's used to Pip being Gender-Queer and for the most part, no one finds it particularly odd. After all, Pip doesn't age and they're stalked by Peter Pan. 
> 
> -In the book, the island is referred to 'the Neverland', which is why Pip and Jack call it that, but North simply says 'Neverland'. 
> 
> [This tumblr posts](http://kita-03.tumblr.com/post/113959602317/bidyke-lorwhal-superlittlesaurus-can-we-all) explains why the fairies keep changing colours. And yes, the mermaids in the Neverland really do want to eat people. They try to drown Wendy to do just that.


End file.
